Top 10 'Empire' songs and the stories behind them

March 11, 2015 3:30 PM

4
0

With songs overseen by Timbaland (who produced hits for Missy Elliott, Aaliyah, Justin Timberlake and Jay Z) and partner Jim Beanz, "Empire" has boasted plenty of tunes that could easily fit on radio. Here are 10 great tracks from its debut season with comments from those behind the music.

The soaring ballad, lifted from the British R&B singer's latest album, was flipped into a duet after Columbia's senior Vice President of A&R Shawn Holiday brought it to Smollett. ("A lot of songs get rejected," Holiday says of the process.) It rocketed to No. 1 on iTunes' hip-hop/rap chart after air...